Reversible connection for electric irons



May 15, 1956 M. D. BRANDLER REVERSIBLE CONNECTION FOR ELECTRIC IRONS 2 Sheets-Sheec 1 Filed April 5, 1954 INVENTOR. Nope/s 0 Ben/Yum Q04 r. am 4770/9/96 M y 1956 M. D. BRANDLER REVERSIBLE CONNECTION FOR ELECTRIC IRONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1954 INVENTOR. Nope/s D BRANOL ER "yd fiwe KII'TORNEY United States Patent 2,745,938 REVERSIBLE CONNECTION FOR ELECTRIC IRONS Morris D. Brandler, Forest Hills, N. Y. Application April 5, 1954, Serial No. 420,924 1 Claim. (Cl. 219-25) This invention relates to electric irons and relates more particularly to the combination of an electric iron having a handle of special construction and a detachable electric lead-in cord therefor which is received in flush relation in the handle and which can be readily reversed to suit the convenience of either a rightor left-handed person, the change being effected instantly and without the use of tools.

The older arrangement in electric irons of providing fully exposed male connectors at the rear end of the iron for attachment by a female plug has largely disappeared in favor of a fixed lead-in arrangement leading from the handle section in a direction at right angles to the major axis of the iron. The primary disadvantage of this structure is that for a left-handed person the cord is always overlying the work and to eliminate this difiiculty structures have been devised to permit the handle section to be taken apart and the partsreversed. This, however, provides an iron which is suitable for a left-handed person but which is wholly unsuitable for use by a right-handed person.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a detachable plug arrangement having the same over-all appearance as the fixed lead-in structure just described but which will permit the parts to be reversed to suit the needs of a left-handed person in a matter of one or two seconds so that the same iron may be intermittently used by rightand left-handed persons without taking the hamdle section apart.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel combined handle and lead-in structure for electric irons wherein the detachable plug so merges into the handle section, without any projecting parts, as to give the entire handle structure a unitary appearance. By eliminating all projections and sharp corners the over-all appearance of the iron is improved and, more important still, the ironing operation can proceed without parts of the iron becoming entangled with the work.

Yet another important object of the invention is to provide a novel cord arrangement for electric irons having all the attractive appearance features of the newer irons with the fixed lead-in structure but which enables the user to replace a worn or defective cord without the use of tools and within a matter of a few seconds.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electric iron embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, the view showing in broken lines the alternate position of the cord when the plug is reversed.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the detachable cord plug.

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 of Fig. 1, the figure showing a plan view of the lower section of the plug.

Fig. 5 is a section taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

The completed electric iron shown in Figs. 1 and 2 includes a body portion 10 having a sole plate 11, and a handle 12 having an enlarged upright portion 13 at its rear end. This upright portion is formed with a recess 14 extending inwardly from its rear face and whose front wall is concavely curved as shown at 15.

A removable female plug 16 is received in this recess and it is so shaped and proportioned that its side walls 20 and its rear wall 21 are flush with the adjoining side walls and rear face of the handle, thus presenting a smooth unbroken surface which is curved at the rear corner sections.

When the plug is moved into the recess it can be properly centered therein by eye but if additional guiding means are desired the plug-receiving recess may be formed on its upper and lower walls with longitudinal depressions which are equally spaced from the opposed edges and which receive splines or ridges 23 on the upper and lower surfaces of the plug.

The plug is formed with upper and lower sections 24 and 25 which have substantially the same external contour and which are secured together by rivets 26. The upper and lower sections having aligned recesses 30 and 31 (Fig. 5) extending adjacent the rear wall and which terminate in forwardly extending longitudinal sections 32 (Fig. 4). 7 There are also forward extensions of the recesses shown at 33 which receive and support female contact members 34. Access to these contacts is through aligned openings 35 in the front wall of the plug.

To facilitate assembly of the two parts of the plug one section may be molded with posts 37 which are received in aligned openings in the other section.

A two wire cable 36 is connected with the female contacts and the cable passes through recesses 30, 31 and 32 and passes out of the plug through a side opening 40 having an enlarged intermediate portion 41, to receive a split bushing 42 which is received in clamping relation on the cable by squeezing the same and it has a tail-piece 43 received in an extension 44 of the annular opening 41 to prevent rotation of the cable which would tear it loose from its connection with the contacts. Annular recess 41 also receives an enlarged terminal 45 at the end of a strain reliever 46. Externally, the plug is formed with a boss 47 through which the cable passes.

To further secure the plug against casual removal section 25 of the plug is formed with a longitudinal recess 50 (Fig. 5) which receives a flat spring having a shoulder 51 which is received against the rear wall of the plug, as shown at 52, and which has a depressible finger piece 53 to disengage the shoulder from the wall. The wall of the plug is relieved above the finger piece as shown at 54 to permit manipulation of the latter.

Male contacts form upwardly inclined rearward extensions of bus bars 56 which lead upwardly from the sole plate through the rear handle section. These contacts terminate about midway between the front and rear terminals of the recess.

For a right-handed person the plug will be inserted in the position shown in Fig. 4 but if the iron is to be used by a left-handed person the plug is removed and reversed so that the cable occupies the position shown at 36 in Fig.2.

While one form or embodiment of the invention has been shown and described herein for illustrative purposes, and the construction and arrangement incidental to one specific application thereof have been disclosed and discussed in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is limited neither to the mere details or relative arrangement of parts, nor to its specific embodiment shown herein, but that extensive deviations from the illustrated form or embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the principles thereof.

What I claim is:

The combination of an electric iron provided with a transverse recess extending forwardly from the rear face thereof, and a detachable female plug provided with upper and lower horizontal faces and provided with an electrical cable leading from one side thereof and which is positioned within the recess in one of two positions with its cable leading transversely from one or the other side of the iron, male electrical contacts leading rearwardly from the front wall of the recess and stopping short of the rear terminal thereof, and female contacts in the plug to receive the male contacts, a depressible spring latch carried by the plug for securing the same in the handle recess, the side and rear walls of the plug being substantially flush with the same walls of the rear handle section and presenting a smooth, unbroken surface therewith, the

lower faces of the plug becoming the upper face when the plug is reversed to permit the cable to extend from the opposite side of the iron.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,678,310 Woodruif July 24, 1928 1,895,120 Baker Jan. 24, 1933 2,108,834 Walpole Feb. 22, 1938 2,308,515 Kistner Jan. 19, 1943 2,416,984 Farr Mar. 4, 1947 2,569,259 Purpura Sept. 25, 1951 2,626,975 Rockwell et a1. Ian. 27, 1953 

